Phone Reviews

The Samsung GALAXY S 4 has a tough act to follow. Its best-selling predecessor, the Galaxy S III, is arguably the most well-known of all Android handsets, the strongest competition to Apple's iPhone, and the automatic go-to device for many smartphone shoppers. While the GALAXY S 4 may look, at first glance at least, much like the phone that came before it, in actual fact almost everything has been changed, adding up to a hotlist of in-demanded technology. So, is the GALAXY S 4 more than the sum of its parts, or have recent high-profile devices like the HTC One stolen its thunder? Read on for the SlashGear review.

It's Nokia's cheapest Windows Phone 8 device, takes the company's latest range to five models, and borrows some of the style from its bigger siblings, but can the Lumia 520 compete with cheap Android? Unveiled alongside the Lumia 720 at Mobile World Congress, the 520 slots in at the entry-level with a few compromises along the way to reach its sub-€150 unsubsidized price. Have the cut corners left the baby Lumia lacking? Read on for our review.

Nokia's Lumia range is, depending on those you ask, either getting crowded or becoming more flexible, with the new Lumia 720 slotting in-between the 620 and the older 820. With its 4.3-inch screen adding up to a pocket-friendly size, the Lumia 720 makes a strong argument for the Windows Phone midrange. Still, we've already praised the Lumia 620 for punching above its station, so does the 720 really carve out enough of a difference to make it worth consideration? Read on for the full review.

Last year Verizon and LG partnered up to offer an inexpensive smartphone in the LG Lucid with 4G LTE, and now a year later we have the new and improved LG Lucid 2 on the SlashGear review bench. Today we'll be taking a look at LG's latest budget friendly 4G LTE packing smartphone over on Verizon Wireless. It's absolutely free on contract from Big Red and runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean and more so read on to see if it's worth it - even for a freebie.

The HTC First is not the Facebook Phone, but it's a Facebook Phone, and if you feel like we've been here before then you're not alone. Baking the core essence of Facebook Home - "putting people first" with a content-rich homescreen and tightly integrated messaging - into a dedicated handset, the First is the start of what we're told will be a series of Home "experience" devices. Problem is, HTC tried putting Facebook front and center once before, with the HTC Salsa and ChaCha, and neither found much favor among the socially-obsessed. Has the $99.99 First got what it takes to be our very best friend? Read on for the full SlashGear review.

Is the HTC One the best Android smartphone around, and has the wait for the AT&T LTE version been worth it? We've already spent more than 6,000 words on the HTC One, back in our review of the European version, but this was our chance to put the first US-specific variant to the test. To do that we took it out into the wild to put the key selling points - specifically the UltraPixel camera and the 4G speed - on trial at the New York Auto Show, among other places, as well as to see if the non-removable battery is a deal-breaker in the face of the fast-incoming Samsung Galaxy S 4. Read on to find out how the HTC One fared.

Rugged smartphones meant for the trailblazer and the survivalist in all of us certainly aren’t rare, but it’s not very often that we get to review one. Kyocera recently announced the Torque, a mid-range smartphone that’s encased in a thick hard plastic shell that can absorb energy when dropped. It’s also water resistant and impervious to dust, and while the average hiker could easily take advantage of the device, the company also targets it towards construction workers and even parents who have small kids that can be more than a little rough with toys. Oh, and did we mention it’s Bear Grylls-approved?

It's been a tough few years for HTC, unsung victim of the Apple-Samsung smartphone war, and the new HTC One has a lot to do to fix that. The company has seen its place in Android dwindle from trailblazer to also-ran, as Samsung's cutting-edge hardware and vast marketing budget forced Galaxy to the fore. Solid phones like 2012's One X and One S failed to relight HTC's fire, and so it has done the only thing it can: raise its game much, much higher with the HTC One. We're back to the days of risk-taking hardware decisions and legitimately interesting software, but the big question is whether the One can pull it off. Read on for the full SlashGear review.

Sony's problems in the smartphone arena aren't unique - HTC, LG, and others are all struggling to compete with Samsung and Apple - but they're nonetheless pressing, and the Xperia Z is the solution it hopes will address that. Piecing together top-tier specifications, like a huge Full HD display, 13-megapixel camera, and the sort of waterproofing you'd normally have to go to Japan to find on a phone, the Xperia Z also marks a step up in design refinement for Sony, leagues away from the creaky plastic of its older phones. Still, the rest of the smartphone world hasn't been standing still while Sony learns its lessons, and 2013 is already shaping up to be a knock-out one for devices. Can the Xperia Z maintain its CES momentum as it lands in the market? Read on for the full SlashGear review.

Here's a spoiler: Nokia's Lumia 620 is arguably the most balanced device in the company's current line-up, and it makes a case for being the best mainstream smartphone on the market today. Excessive praise for a cheap Windows Phone? Perhaps, but when it comes to blending price, specifications, size, and flexibility, the Lumia 620 ticks plenty of boxes for the everyday consumer, as well as demonstrating exactly what it is that still gives us hope for Nokia in the future. Read on for the full review.